Causal relationships of math anxiety based on math self-concept and academic enthusiasm with emphasis on the mediating role of learning strategies

Math anxiety, as one of the inhibiting factors in learning mathematics, has received the attention of many educational and cognitive psychologists. The purpose of this study was to examining the causal model of math self-concept and academic enthusiasm with math anxiety, emphasizing the mediating role of learning strategies. The research method was correlational and based on the structural equation model. The statistical population of this research included all male and female students of the second year of secondary schools in Urmia (N=23015), which based on Lohlin (2004) and Klein (2011) a sample of 200 people selected through a multi-stage cluster random sampling method. To collect data, were used Sedghpour et al.'s Math Self-Concept Questionnaire (2016), Fredericks et al.'s Academic Enthusiasm Scale (2004), Plaque and Parker's Math Anxiety Scale (1982), and Dawson and McEnery's Learning Strategies Questionnaire (2004). The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis showed significant two-by-two correlations between the studied variables and confirmed all the fit indices of the model. So that the standardized path coefficients showed that the direct effect of mathematical self-concept on learning strategies (β=0.39); Math self-concept to math anxiety (β=0.49); academic enthusiasm for learning strategies (β=0.46); And academic enthusiasm for math anxiety (β=0.44) statistically significant. Also, the results of the AMOS software bootstrap test showed that the indirect effects of math self-concept and academic enthusiasm on math anxiety through learning strategies were significant. Based on the findings of the present research, it can be concluded that the relationship between math self-concept and academic enthusiasm with math anxiety is not a simple linear relationship, but other variables such as learning strategies have a moderating role in this relationship.